Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of livestock and their seasonal activities, northwest of Iran

To identify the ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of livestock and their seasonal northwest of Iran, including the combination of two of the geographical regions of Iaracnti v(Citaiessp,i ainn and mountain plateau) where the majority of the domestic ruminants in Iran exist. Methods: Fifteen villages of Meshkin-Shahr County were selected randomly from different areas dofo gths ew ceoreu netxya. mTihnee da nfoimr tahl edirw perlloibnagbs lew einrefe vstiasittieodn . aSnadm tphlee sw wheorlee ibdoednyti foife ds haete tph,e cloewvesl, ogfo asptse caineds according to the standard morphological key. Results: In this study 1 208 specimen were collected and totally nine species (Dermacentor
marginatus, Dermacentor niveus, Haemaphysalis erinacei, Haemaphysalis punctata, Hyalomma
anatolicum, Hyalomma asiaticum, Hyalomma marginatum, Rhipicephalus bursa and Rhipicephalus sanguineus) were identified in this study. Also 569 host including 40 cows, 450 sshheoewpe,d 7 0a g4o4a%ts oafn idn f9e sdtoagtsio wn earme eoxnagm eixnaemd ifnoer di nlfievsetsattoiocnk .a Tnhde a minofensgt athtieomn r2a5t5e w aemreo ningf esshteeedp w (h46ic%h) was higher than other hosts. The infestation rates among the rest of hosts were as: cows (40%), goat (37%) and dogs (33%). Conclusions: The results of this study and other studies of the region showed the probability of the establishment and development of the burden of several tick-borne diseases.